This invention relates to devices for assisting in mounting and dismounting from a motor vehicle and, more particularly, to a pull out step to provide access to the tailgate of a truck.
Pull out steps which provide access to the side of a truck have been used in the past. Such steps are described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,108,458 and U.S. Pat. No. 5,716,064. Such steps do not provide access to a truck""s tailgate. The device described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,716,064 is intended to give a user the ability to enter the bed of a pickup truck by means of a pull out step mounted on the front spring hanger of the truck""s rear axle and thus located near the front of the pickup truck bed. Such a device has the disadvantage of requiring the user, while standing on the pull out step with one foot, to lift his other foot over the side of the pickup truck bed. Such a maneuver is awkward and may be dangerous, particularly if the user is carrying an object in his hands.
The present invention provides a detachable pull out step adapted for attachment to a trailer hitch located under the bed of a pickup truck. The step tread is attached to a beam which slidably or telescopically engages a bracket which is attached to the trailer hitch. When the beam is extended to the rear of the truck, the tread extends past the rear of the tailgate when the tailgate is in the horizontal position, thus permitting a person to step from the ground to the tread and then to the tailgate in the manner in which one normally climbs stairs. Locking means is provided to secure the beam in both the extended and retracted positions. The tread is provided with a slip resistant upper surface and with a rubber bumper around the edge. A gooseneck may be provided between the beam and the tread so that the elevation of the tread above the ground will be substantially half the elevation of the tailgate when it is in the horizontal position. The bracket may also be attached to the body of the truck.